1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to smoke removal and filtering and, more particularly, to a smoke evacuation system for use in surgical procedures, including minimally invasive surgical procedures such as laparoscopy during which cautery or a laser is used.
2. Description of Related Art
U.S. Pat. No. 5,578,000 (Greff et al.) discloses a smoke evacuation system including a trocar having a working channel, a stopcock or valve communicating with the channel, a source of wall vacuum, a fluid conduit connected between the stopcock of the trocar and the source of wall vacuum, a first filter for applying a first reduction in suction and separating smoke into its components and a residual gas, and a flow restriction to generate a second reduction in suction. The flow restriction is along a passage formed by the conduit, the filter and working channel.
Greff et al. note that smoke has been handled by simply allowing it to escape into the operating room, thereby subjecting the surgeon and staff to contaminants. They recognize that closed, recirculating systems involving two trocars have been used, as have probes which are inserted through a trocar, but that such systems do not adequately solve the problems associated with smoke and the removal thereof, e.g., contamination, smell and impaired visibility of an surgical site.
Other problems inadequately addressed by currently available evacuation systems are loss of the pressure in the pneumoperitoneum, and/or tissue drying, particularly if pressure loss is compensated for by increasing insufflation gas flow.
While the smoke evacuation system disclosed in the Greff et al. patent may be well suited for its intended purpose, it would be advantageous if the dependency on a remote, "in-wall" vacuum source could be eliminated thereby reducing the cost and complexity of the system.